UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Industrial engineering alumnus Greg Lucier and his wife Marilena have made a gift commitment of up to $2 million to the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial Engineering at Penn State.

Paul Griffin, the Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo Department Head Chair in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, said, "This is an exciting time for Penn State engineering with a new dean, provost and president. With these changes come significant opportunities. The gift from Greg and Marilena Lucier will allow us to take advantage of these opportunities and ultimately be transformative for our department. This includes investments in several new programs; new research opportunities in manufacturing, energy, healthcare delivery and supply chains; and support for our infrastructure to deliver the very best undergraduate industrial engineering program to our students."

An initial $1 million will go to supporting centers and laboratories, developing an analytics degree with the Smeal College of Business and the Department of Statistics, enhancing the manufacturing program by purchasing new equipment and redesigning the curriculum, providing teaching support and strengthening marketing efforts.

The Luciers have agreed to give up to an additional $1 million as the department reaches specific benchmarks throughout a three-year period. Future gifts will be used to establish a Lucier Scholar and Lucier Instructor program, supporting doctoral students.

Greg Lucier said he and Griffin worked collaboratively to establish internal and external goals for the program. "We asked ourselves, 'What can we do to change the profile and impact of the department?'"

As a chair of several large not-for-profits, Lucier has learned to become more strategic about philanthropy. He noted, "This gift is really an investment in the department and the people to help them do something impactful."

Lucier added, "As I look at my career, I trace a lot of my good fortune to the education I received at Penn State, specifically the industrial engineering program."

A 1986 industrial engineering graduate, he is the former chief executive officer of Life Technologies, one of the largest providers of systems, biological reagents and services supplying scientists around the world in every way that life science technologies are applied. Last fall, Lucier was named chairman of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. He also holds a master of business administration degree from Harvard Business School.

Lucier served as the College of Engineering's spring 2009 commencement speaker. He was named a Penn State Alumni Fellow in 2009 and a College of Engineering Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in 2013.

Marilena Lucier is a native of Norristown, Pa. She said, "Our middle son, Grant, is a student at Penn State, so I have great fondness for the University."

The Luciers' gift will help the College of Engineering achieve its goals in For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. This effort is directed toward a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America. The University is engaging Penn State's alumni and friends as partners in achieving six key objectives: ensuring student access and opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining the University's tradition of quality. The campaign's top priority is keeping a Penn State degree affordable for students and families.